WAY OF THE FLYING CRANE

by Ulquiorra9000

Chapter 14

"Hey. Some kind of ruckus down at the plaza."

The mantis jockey pointed down at Sage-Eye Stronghold from far above, and Tashi squinted to look. It was early in the morning; the sun had barely crept over the mountains, but even in the dim light, he, too, saw a gathering crowd. And at one end of the crowd stood two isolated figures that Tashi could recognize evenf rom up here. Overhead, four mantises flew in circular patrols, their riders holding pikes.

"Oh, no," Jinpa moaned. "The Trial of Succession. Sangye must have already challenged Khan Orzat!"

Tashi balled his hands into fists. "Get us down there," he told the mantis jockey. "Quick. I need to talk to those two people."

"You got it, pal." The jockey tugged on the mantis' reins, and the insect dove straight down, forcing its passengers to hang on tight. The wind howled past Tashi's ears and his eyes watered, but he couldn't tear his eyes from the sight of the bustling crowd. Nothing but a Trial of Succession could possibly draw everyone together like that!

However, the patrolling mantises swooped in, and Tashi's mount paused. "You there!" a rider called out. "No one is permitted to interfere with the Trial. Land your mount down there, or we will be forced to escort you away." He pointed at an empty area right behind the crowd, opposite of the two figures.

Reluctantly, the jockey of Tashi's mantis guided his mount to the designated area, and people backed away from it as the mantis landed at the crowd's edge. Tashi and the other passengers didn't bother with the rope ladder; they just jumped right down, and Tashi pushed his way through the crowd. "I need to see Sangye!" he shouted over the babble. "Move! Please! It's important!"

But Tashi couldn't get through the crowd in time. Past all the people, he could see Sangye standing in the open at the other end of the crowd. Several armed guards kept the crowd at bay. From here, Tashi saw Sangye motion, and the people backed even further away.

"I have seen much on my travels to Abzan and Sultai territory," Sangye announced. "I fought with a local nobleman, and with his army, I learned that our enemies are many and powerful. Soon, full-scale war will be upon us! We need a leader capable of meeting this threat. And it is not Khan Orzat."

Some people in the crowd booed Sangye's words, but many others clapped and voiced their support, jabbing accusing fingers at Orzat.

The Khan's face twisted in fury. "Lady Sangye, I cannot believe you called me here today to challenge me. You were one of my most devoted students, and an excellent monk! I didn't mentor you to become an... an usurper!"

"It is the way of the clan, my Khan, and the way of the world," Sangye retorted. "Many have grown dissatisfied with your guidance, Orzat, and I speak for them when I say that a new leader is needed. Until such time as your student Narset is ready to lead, I believe myself your proper replacement to meet the Sultai menace."

"The Sultai wouldn't dare invade us!" Orzat said, but even through the crowd, Tashi could hear doubt and fear in the old man's voice.

"The Abzan only dealt a temporary blow to the Sultai Brood," Sangye told him. "They will return, and the Abzan alone can't stop them. You're unwilling to go to war, Orzat. You've made that much clear to me. But I... I will help eradicate the Sultai Brood from the face of Tarkir."

Sahar clamped a hand on Tashi's shoulder. "Do something," she urged him. "Sangye is a traitor and schemer! I've got a bad feeling about this, especially if she's acting on Chodak the Mad's orders. I want Jeskai aid against the Sultai, but not like this."

Tashi bit his lower lip. "I can't stop them. The Trial has already started."

"What?"

"The Trial starts with the challenger voicing why he or she would better rule than the previous Khan. Honestly, their debate is a formality at this point," Tashi said helplessly. "I'd be dragged off by the crowd if I interfered."

Sahar winced. "I see. Well, then, are you sure that Khan Orzat can handle this challenge?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry." Tashi swallowed and kept his eyes on the elderly Khan. He could already see a certain supple strength in the old man's posture and face, which suited his combat style: Way of the Riverwheel. Tashi took comfort in the fact that Orzat was arguably the best living user of that style.

But could it stop Sangye's madness?

Tashi and the others watched with rapt attention as Sangye and Orzat backed away from each other. "I am Lady Sangye, and I challenge you, Khan Orzat, for the office of Khan," Sangye announced. "I fight with Way of the Riverwheel."

"I am Khan Orzat, and I defend my office from you, Lady Sangye. I fight with Way of the Riverwheel." By now, both contestants stood fifty feet apart, and each assumed the pre-battle meditation stance. Intense waves of blue, red, and white mana radiated from them, rippling their robes and shimmering in the air like a mirage. Tashi could feel their mana coiling and writhing tensely, waiting to be released.

Silence fell over the plaza. Not even the mantis made a sound.

Then, two blurred figures streaked across the battlefield.

Tashi recoiled as Sangye and Orzat flashed across the battlefield at inhuman speed, and when they met at the center, both already had their weapons drawn. Sangye's dark hair billowed freely as she brandished her ribbon-whip, while Orzat drew a long white cloth from his belt. Intense mana hummed and sizzled on the weapons as they clashed, and the sheer pressure cracked the plaza's tiles. The ground began to buckle.

The air crackled and snapped as both contestants whirled around one another in a loose dance, their enchanted weapons snaking through the air and clashing at random. Each time, Tashi's ears ached from the pressure, and his eyes watered. He resisted the urge to draw back, but the display of power was terrifying. Orzat was no longer a calm old man and family man; now, he was a living weapon.

Blood filled the air as Sangye's ribbon slashed across Orzat's navy blue robes and flesh alike, but a second later, Orzat's cloth sliced through Sangye's thigh, with another spray of blood. Both monks leaped back from each other, standing thirty feet apart.

Tashi watched tensely as Sangye and Orzat resumed their meditation stances, ignoring their bleeding wounds. Instead, they closed their eyes, a look of utter calm on their faces.

"What do you think? Can Khan Orzat defeat her?" Sahar muttered to Tashi.

"Can't say. They're even at this point, so they're both going bcto use their maximum abilities," Tashi told her. "I'd give a slight edge to Orzat, but he's not the warrior he used to be. And if Chodak is helping Sangye somehow..."

For a few moments, both combatants stood locked in place, silently daring each other to move. The tension hung in the air like a thick fog.

Orzat broke the silence.

The crowd gasped as Orzat stood on one leg, whirling his cloth around him. Torrents of blue mana flooded the air, and as Tashi watched, the mana manifested into actual water, thousands of gallons of it. A fine mist settled over the crowd as Orzat coalesced the water into a massive ring that whirled around him, forming spines along its length as added weapons. He pointed his arm to direct the water at Sangye -

Sangye vanished.

And then she appeared again, floating in the air right before Orzat, her legs tucked up under her, her arms outstretched.

With a terrific boom, Sangye snapped out a kick that caught Orzat right on the forehead. The Khan flew across the plaza and rolled painfully toward the crowd's edge, his water ring collapsing as he went. Before the Khan could get up, however, Sangye appeared before him again, and this time, she unleashed a flurry of punches.

Tashi stared in shock. That's just like Way of the Flying Crane's third form! I know that Sangye dabbled with the art in her past, but this is different! Chodak must have taught it to her somehow. This isn't good...

Just in time, Orzat summoned a chunk of water to himself and formed a barrier just as Sangye's fists reached him. Water and blue mana blasted through the air as Sangye fought her way through the barrier, and with another kick, she swept it aside. In an eyeblink, dozens of punches sent Orzat tumbling away for a second time.

Like an unstoppable machine, Sangye advanced on Orzat, not even bothering with her high-speed movement technique. She raised a fist to finish Orzat off -

This time, the Khan was ready. Visibly shaken, he sprang to his feet and summoned more of his water, forming a smaller ring around himself. Orzat did a sort of complex dance, and the ring formed several thick tendrils that rushed at Sangye from different angles to overwhelm her.

Sangye took to the air once again, whirling her red ribbon around her. Her red and white mana vaporized the water on touch, but one tendril got through her guard. Sangye cried out as the hardened water seized her and slammed her to the plaza's tiled floor.

"Had enough?" Orzat barked, advancing on Sangye. "I will grant you this one chance to cease and desist."

"Foolish old man." Sangye threw off the tendril with a wave of her mana, then leaped into the air once again. Grimly, Orzat gathered his water and sent more tendrils racing after Sangye, desperate to keep her away. However, Sangye swept aside two more tendrils with her ribbon, then vanished. She re-appeared right before Orzat, and once again delivered a terrific kick to his face. Just as quickly, a jet of water smacked into Sangye's back, throwing her far away.

Orzat stumbled back, his mana clearly wavering with exhaustion. He re-summoned his water with his cloth and sent more tendrils after Sangye, but it was no good. She charged right through the assault, deflecting some water tendrils while allowing others to land glancing blows. Her face had settled into a grimly determined mask, and it chilled Tashi to the bone.

With a defiant shout, Orzat drew back his arms and sent one thick jet of water at Sangye. He was too slow; Sangye appeared in mid-air behind Orzat, and a blinding flurry of punches knocked him to the plaza's floor once again. Orzat's water lost cohesion and spread across the plaza, then evaporated as the Khan's mana wore out.

The Khan scrambled back from Sangye as she advanced, but he was helpless as she towered over him. With one swift movement, she seized his head and twisted it to the side with a crack that echoed over the stunned crowd.

Sangye released Orzat and let his body slump to the ground. She powered down her mana, bound her hair with her ribbon, and raised a hand in triumph. "Today, I take Khan Orzat's life for the good of the clan! I, Lady Sangye, stand victorious!" she announced, voicing the Trial's official victory statement. "I regret the need to take such a great man's life, but if our clan is to survive, it needs a new leader now. I shall lead us to triumph with our Abzan allies over the foul Sultai clan!"

Cheers swept across the crowd and everyone pumped their fists to show support. For his part, Tashi turned to face Jinpa, Sahar and Leila, his heart racing. "I'm sorry," he said tightly. He felt numb. "I should have been able to stop Sangye long before this."

Jinpa gripped Tashi's upper arm. "Don't. You did everything we could. Sangye and Chodak were just one step ahead."

"But now Sangye's free to finish her scheme!" Tashi argued. He swayed on the spot; all of them had spent the night awake on the mantis. It had been a long trip from Arashin.

Sahar held up a gloved hand. "You're feeling guilty about this because Chodak's your grandfather. But we're not defeated yet. Leila and I came here for a reason: to stop Chodak's schemes and repair the Abzan-Jeskai alliance that we're trying to build. We'll take care of this soon enough, one way or another."

Tashi hesitated. Sahar was right; Sangye would need a few hours to settle into her new office, but after that, Tashi and the others could still pay her a visit and figure things out. Exactly how this would work, Tashi didn't know, but the look in Sahar's eyes steeled his resolve. He nodded. "Okay. Let's just get out of here and work on the plan later."

"Oh, and you'll both need to see the guards and get passports," Jinpa told Sahar and Leila. "Tashi and I will assure the guards that you're here for peaceful reasons."

"Right," Sahar nodded. "Lead the way. It's been a long night."